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Einhorn Barbarito Partner Ivette Alvarez Appointed to Joint Commission on Puerto Rico Relief

February 14, 2018 | Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.

Einhorn Barbarito is pleased to announce that our Partner, Ivette Ramos Alvarez, was appointed by executive order of Governor Phil Murphy as a member of the joint Commission on Puerto Rico Relief.

“This is an amazing honor,” says Patricia Barbarito, managing partner of Einhorn Barbarito, “one we know is greatly deserved by Ivette for her tireless work and dedication to the people of Puerto Rico. We are so very proud she is being recognized by our new governor.”

As a member of this 18-person commission, Alvarez will collaborate with state and federal agencies to expedite processes that assist Puerto Ricans living in New Jersey and examine ways the state can aid the island.

“Being a member of this powerful and determined group is something I am very excited about,” says Alvarez. “I look forward to helping our governor and my fellow commissioners in any way I can to do what is right for the American citizens that have found themselves displaced from their homes because the devastating force of nature that was Maria. I am proud of being of Puerto Rican origin and living in a state that cherishes diversity and comes to the aid of those in need.”

The executive order will mandate the commission to work with state agencies to ascertain services already provided to Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican evacuees in New Jersey. The order will further require that the commission work with federal agencies to expedite processes that will benefit Puerto Ricans in New Jersey in need of services, as well as non-profit agencies that provide safety-net services to all those who have been displaced.

In addition, Murphy’s executive order will task the commission to examine:

  • The moratorium on mortgage and reverse mortgage foreclosures in Puerto Rico that is set to expire on March 19, 2018;
  • Power generation on the island;
  • Resources available to students and professors who have evacuated or remain unable to complete coursework in Puerto Rico;
  • Volunteer tourism whereby New Jerseyans are encouraged to visit Puerto Rico to assist non-profit recovery organizations and potentially receive tax credits and/or deductions that can be issued for services rendered;
  • Recruitment of volunteer lawyers to pursue denial appeals of FEMA benefits.

Alvarez is dedicated to serving the interests of the Latino community. In 2017, she earned the Amigo Award from New Jersey’s Hispanic Bar Association. Alvarez, fluent in Spanish, immigrated with her family to the USA from San Juan, Puerto Rico, when she was 12. She graduated from Columbia Law School while working in a family business and raising a toddler and teenager. Alvarez has worked tenaciously to advance the Latino legal profession since becoming an attorney. A past president of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, Alvarez lectures on Latino legal matters and has appeared on CNN Español, among other programs.

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